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US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin withdraws from Saudi conference over missing journalist

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The US has joined the UK, France and the Netherlands in withdrawing from a high profile Saudi investor conference amid the disappearance and alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said that following a meeting with Donald Trump and secretary of state Mike Pompeo, he would not be attending the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh next week.

Read more: French and Dutch finance ministers snub Saudi investor conference

His withdrawal follows that of the UK's international trade secretary Liam Fox earlier on Thursday.

French finance minister Brune Le Maire and Dutch counterpart Wopka Hoekstra also cancelled plans to attend earlier in the day.

But London-based consultancy firms PwC, Deloitte and EY are all listed as “knowledge partners” of the event and have declined to comment on whether they will withdraw from the event.

Fellow partners McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Oliver Wyman and Bain & Company have also declined to confirm either way.

Senior executives from Thales, EDF, Pepsi and Goldman Sachs are set to make the trip.

Read more: Labour: Liam Fox is 'vacillating' over Saudi business summit

Despite major banks HSBC, Societe Generale and Credit Suisse withdrawing their chief executives, senior bankers at the firms are still preparing to attend, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

The list of speakers and attendees for the Future Investment Initiative event in Riyadh has dwindled significantly in the past few days as more details emerge surrounding the disappearance of Khashoggi.

The US resident and critic of the Saudi government has not been seen since entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

Turkish officials have since heard a recording of Khashoggi’s alleged murder inside the consulate, reports say. Saudi Arabia has denied involvement.